“Yvonne Nelson, I like your medicine…” We love the way her name rhymes, we love watching her act on our screens, we love to hear the interesting tales about her life and career. It won’t be too far fetched to say that Ghanaian actress Yvonne Nelson is one of the most talked about celebrities in Nigeria.

Born in Accra, Ghana she participated in the Miss Ghana beauty pageant at the age of 19 which opened the doors to her acting career. The graduate of Human Resource Management from the Central University College, Ghana is also a movie producer and has starred in various movies including ‘Single & Married’, ‘Heart Of Men’ and ‘House Of Gold’.

Last year, her relationship with Nigerian music star Iyanya brewed a lot of media attention when it ended. Since then, both parties have refused to talk about it until when she gave BellaNaija an exclusive during her last visit to Lagos. At her hotel room at Raddison Blu, Victoria Island, Yvonne was a warm host as she opened up on her past relationship, her life, career and more.You have become a regular face on the Nigerian social scene lately and we are happy to see you again. What brings you to Lagos this time around? I came for two things – Mai Atafo’s Bridal show and Zaron. I was recently appointed the Face of Zaron Hair & Makeup. I did a photo shoot and a short commercial so very soon Nigerians are going to see more of me in Zaron.

How was your experience at the Bridal Show? What did it feel like to be dressed up as a bride? It felt so real. We were wearing wedding gowns! I had a really great time and I had two grooms, Chris Attoh and Banky W.

Judging by the frequency of your visits, you must have developed a fondness for Nigeria by now. I love Nigeria. Sometimes when I’m here, I don’t even want to go back home. Nigerians are very warm and straightforward. They see you, and if they like you, they approach you and take pictures and that is really cool. My Nigerian name is Damilola, I just love how it sounds.

There must be more to you apart from acting and modeling. What else takes up your time professionally? There was a stage in my career, in 2010 when I was having some challenges. Some people were really on my case in Ghana so I decided to open a shop. People love my fashion sense and every time I dress, I usually get good compliments so I decided to make some money out of it. Anything you see in my shop is something that I can wear, that is why I named it YN’s closet and it’s doing really well.There were rumours during that period that you were actually banned from acting in Ghana. Is this true? I don’t think anyone in this universe can ban anyone. If you have a talent and you act, can someone stop you from acting? They can’t!

So what really happened then? People kiss ass in my industry in Ghana, I don’t know about here. Sometimes, when they are not happy, they can’t say they’re not. I’m a producer now and I know that if the crew or actors need some basic things like food, I need to provide. If that is not done, you need to voice out but when you do, they say you’re being arrogant. That is what happened with me, I had to voice out my feelings and the next minute, the producer said he was going to tell some committee or association and they are going to ban me. But there was no ban because I don’t have an official letter to that effect. You’ve bounced back since then and now you’re into movie production. Tell me about the movies you’ve produced so far. I produced the first one in 2011 called ‘The Price’. I had a lot of challenges when I was producing that movie because when it got to the editing bench, part of it got stolen. They were actually trying to sabotage me so we had to reshoot. I didn’t want that to hold me back so I produced my second movie called ‘Single & Married’ and it became the biggest movie in Ghana. Then I produced a third one ‘House Of Gold’ which has a very interesting cast and story line. I actually just released ‘The Price’ this year. We’re working on the fourth one.You featured some Nigerian music stars in ‘House Of Gold’. How was their performance? Ice Prince and Omawumi were amazing. Omawumi especially was really great. I’d be doing the premiere of House of Gold in Lagos soon so Nigerians would have a chance to see it.

Your role in the movie ‘Heart Of Men’ caused quite a stir in Ghana especially with the movie poster which was quite provocative. There is also a reputation in Ghana for producing soft porn movies. What are your thoughts on this? I’m not the script writer neither am I the director but I was comfortable with the script that is why I acted in it. Nobody was nude in the movie, it’s just that people were not used to a poster like that. On a general note, I can’t defend all the producers or directors in Ghana but I know for a fact that it got to a point that producers were taking advantage of that sex thing and it wasn’t good. They said “people want to see naked people, people want to see skin” so they were just overdoing it. I’m happy that I’ve been very selective with all my roles. I haven’t done any nude role and I don’t intend to.

What kind of upbringing did you have back home in Ghana? I was raised by my Mum, a single parent and she did an amazing job. She is still doing an amazing job. It was very hard for me to leave the house because I’m the last born and she is my best friend, I tell her everything. Even when I have a heart break, she is the first person I talk to. I grew up like any average Ghanaian child.How did you find your way into the movie industry? Acting started for me when I was in Level 100 but before that, I did Miss Ghana when I was 19. I never went for any auditions. I was discovered by this same guy who had issues with me in 2010. He saw me somewhere where I went to get lunch and he approached me, telling me they were doing some casting for a movie. He convinced me to come to the movie set, they gave me a costume and a script to read from and that is how it started.

Sometime last year, you were quite emotional on Twitter when you supposedly broke up with a Nigerian music star. That incident has been shrouded with lots of cover-ups. Could you tell me what really happened? I think it’s time my fans get to know the whole truth so I’m going to let it all out. I dated one person here, he’s in the industry. There were too many lies in the relationship. I found out a whole lot of things and I just felt like he took advantage of me.

Why did you go on Twitter to express your emotions? I’m human, I’m not like a robot or anything. I just wanted the whole world to know what I was going through and I just wanted them to know that I was done with the relationship.Did you actually break up with him on Twitter? I didn’t break up on Twitter. I just tweeted how I was feeling that very moment.

I had an interview with Iyanya shortly after that Twitter rant and his words were “She didn’t mention my name so I don’t know anything about it. I’ve never told anyone that I was dating anybody.” Aren’t we talking about the same person here? He would say that because he was wrong. His team is also trying to protect his fan base and I don’t blame him for denying anything. It’s him and his career, that’s OK.

How long did the two of you date and how would you describe the relationship? We dated for 7 to 8 months. We had something and I thought it was special, like he was a wonderful guy but it was all lies. He had other girls and other things he was doing. Aside the actress that was in the picture, there were a lot more. That is how bad it is. We were in a relationship and he lied throughout and he was able to do all those things because I wasn’t living in Nigeria. But aside from the distance, I feel if you’re a genuine person and you’re loyal, you would still not do that.

Is this actress you’re talking about actually Tonto Dikeh? I feel it’s disrespectful to start mentioning other people’s names. I am talking about Iyanya because we had a thing, I don’t want to bring in a third person. There were a lot of names that people know. There was a girl from South Africa, I’m not going to mention names but she was part of Big Brother Africa last year.Most people only got to know that you and Iyanya were dating after you broke up. Were you deliberately being secretive about it? I also don’t believe in putting my relationships in the faces of people. We both had our careers and were trying to protect our fan base and that’s cool. But if you go through my Instagram page, you’d see a couple of pictures of us together. I wasn’t shy about anything but he could not say he’s dating Yvonne Nelson because he had different people he was seeing so it was very hard for him to bring it out.

What did the experience teach you? There are some things that you don’t get to learn in school; people can’t advice you, you won’t even listen. You just have to experience it to learn. I have no regrets that I went through it, it would have happened anyway. We are all human beings. We fall in love once in a while but if it doesn’t work out, that’s OK.

Have you moved on since then? I have! It happened last year but I’ve moved on. I’ve been working hard, been producing movies. I still listen to his music, I love his album. I love the Track 1 with MI and I love, ‘I Got It’. He is a very talented guy, I always have goose bumps on my body when he sings.Aside from the music, what else was the attraction? You can’t really explain when you love somebody. It’s everything. It was just something that I felt and I can’t explain. It was love, I really really loved him and he knows that.

How do you feel about him now and what message would you like to pass on to him if you had the chance? Iyanya is such an amazing person but I just feel he needs to be more honest and be a man of his words. It’s not good if he takes advantage of women. My Mum always says any man who takes advantage of women won’t end up well. It’s Karma, it’s going to come back to you. He should treat women fairly and he should be an honest person. It’s been a while though, I haven’t seen him. He is doing amazing things in his career and I wish him luck.

Since then, there have been other reports and speculations of you in new relationships, the latest one being Dammy Krane. How true is this? Honestly, I don’t know where these stories come from. If I take a picture with somebody or I do a Keek with the person, the next minute I’m dating the person. Come on, it’s not fair! I am very single, as a matter of fact, I have trust issues. I don’t trust men easily and I am not psychologically ready for any relationship now. The last one was so bad that I just want to chill.You shared a cover on Complete Fashion magazine shortly after the break up where both of you spoke about love. Was this just a coincidence? I did my shoot in Ghana and that was before I met Iyanya but my cover didn’t come out until the whole controversy thing. If you look at the pictures, I was a little bigger than this, slightly chubby.

That’s exactly what my next question is about. You’ve lost so much weight recently. Did you deliberately lose the weight? Yeah I did. It’s because I wanted to do a bit of modeling as well. I had phone calls from London, I was in Pride Magazine in London, I was shooting with skinny models so I had to drop the weight. And also, I started living a very healthy life, I cut down a lot of things and I gym every day. It’s partly for my health and partly for other things I wanted to do. Also, I played the role of a model in House Of Gold so I had to lose some weight.

By African standards, you weren’t even considered fat. Yes, but surprisingly I was a Size 10 – 12. My hip was 42 before but now it’s 39. It was just something I had to do for the movie role and photo shoot. I’m not sick.You are one African celebrity who has been photographed so many times in a bikini. Why do you seem to love wearing bikinis? Like I always say, I’m not a night person. I don’t party, I don’t club, I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, I’m very boring. The only place I get to hang out is at the beach. I love going to the beach with good friends, people who make me laugh. I have over 50 bikinis and every time I go to the beach, I wear one and take a picture and when I put it on Instagram, the bloggers take it. I’m just living my life. I hang out at the beach a lot, that’s what makes me happy.

I’m inspired by your Glaucoma Foundation. Tell me more about it. My grand mum inspired me to start the Yvonne Nelson Glaucoma Foundation and I did in 2010. She had Glaucoma and she ended up getting blind and she died. We were very ignorant at that time, we just associated it with old age. I started the foundation to create awareness about Glaucoma in Ghana. Ghana and Nigeria seem to have the second highest rates of Glaucoma in the whole world. The bad thing about this disease is that it’s a silent blinding disease. It is usually hereditary so if your parents or relatives have Glaucoma, there is a possibility that you might have it. It has to do with high pressure on the optic nerve of the eye so if the pressure is not controlled, some fluid enters it and it could make you go blind. If you are reading this, please go and check your eyes, check your pressure. Tell me something about you that most people don’t know. I am so down to earth and simple. I’m very happy Keek is there so people can see the real me, my natural side. In my videos, I dance and goof around with my friends. If I’m not shooting a movie or traveling, I’m always at home. But I love shopping, that makes me happy.You seem to be a big fan of Louis Vuitton. I can see at least two LV bags around you (a suitcase and a laptop bag). I am but I changed recently. I’m into Gucci and Chanel now. And I love my Louboutins.

Are you a big fan of designer labels? With dresses, I can wear anything. But I believe your bags and your shoes should stand out.

What influences your style? Nothing, really. I don’t follow trends. I just go to a shop, I see something I like and I buy it. I think you should know your body structure, and just know what works for you and stick to it.

It was great chatting with Yvonne and from BellaNaija, we wish her the very best!

Single & Married Trailer

House Of Gold Trailer

About Adeola Adeyemo

Adeola Adeyemo is a graduate of Industrial Relations and Personnel Management from University of Lagos. However, her passion is writing and she worked as a reporter with NEXT Newspaper. She believes that anything can be written about; anything can be a story depending on the angle it is seen from and the writer's imagination. When she is not writing news or feature articles, she slips into her fantasies and creates interesting fiction pieces. She blogs at www.deolascope.blogspot.com

comments like these get on my nerves. How are you sure the Iyanya (as bad as he seems) does not deserve better? No be by fine dem dey do this love thing(that is if you even consider Yvonne fine). Personally, i will question the taste and standards of any woman who chooses to date a guy like Iyanya.

I knew It!!! I refuse to play Iyanya’s songs because he follows the crowd. He never used to make afrobeats songs but for the money. How original?!! Personally I don’t think muscles or fame makes someone fit.

Iyanya there are a lot of women swearing for you and it is not because you chase, it is because you are a liar and a user. Yvonne is not even issh..The worst one was that Cross River presenter who helped you when you were nothing. If she swears for you, it will catch you.

sorry hun..i feel your pain but what were you expecting? that iyanya was going to be a faithful and loyal boyfriend?? i mean common, look at him.. I hope you meet a guy that would love and appreciate you though.

This is why they say women are enablers! What do you mean by your comment? Honestly, that’s very daft! So she shouldn’t date an entertainer, or a hot guy again because he’s attractive to others? Listen, you don’t choose who you love. It’s unfortunate that she, like the best of us, invested herself in someone who couldn’t keep it in his pants. Don’t revert the blame to her!

errr..madam before you kill your self..maybe you should learn to read and understand..I never blamed her in anyway but really, It is not rocket science to see that iyanya is not someone who wants to be committed relationship (at least not yet). Btw please don’t give me that bullshit about not choosing who you love, maybe YOU don’t but dont display your myopic mind by assuming everyone thinks like you do.now, kindly take a seat abeg

I’ve already said it on this site today and I’ll be happy to say it again. The Nigerian society is the biggest enabler of the gender discrimination women face everyday. Wasn’t it a couple of days ago that someone recounted a speech given at a wedding where the bride was warned to appreciate her good fortune because a hot bachelors wife’d her and she must not “trouble him” since many other women wanted to be in her shoes?

Eiiishhhhh. You can be as fine as Brad Pitt (& by the way, how come we don’t hear about him philandering every where as a fine boi consine? Hmmm?) or as ugly as Shrek but that ain’t no excuse to keep unzipping your pants whenever you come across a willing female.

And Nigerians, please start correcting the abnormality in our society from today onwards by telling yourselves, “I REFUSE TO ENABLE CHEATING, VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND ALL OTHER FORMS OF GENDER INJUSTICE ANYMORE”.

I already liked you, but you just gained a MAJOR fan and new follower on instagram! I love yoyr personality and I’m glad you were able to freely talk about your relationship with Iyanya without coming across as mad/bitter. I feel you 100%. Stay beautiful, down to earth and downright fabulous hunny! GIRL POWER! 😀

In fact, thanks Bella naija, this is officially my best celeb interview that you’ve conducted.

Iyanya is a real douchbag if he really had other women when he was in a relationship with miss Nelson. She really is not what her movies and blogs play her out to be. I guess BN team can boast of having the exclusive dish on this their rumored relationship. Nice job guys.

Hot damn, that was a lot of honest divulging about Iyanya & “She who must not be Named”. Kudos to her though, for having the strength to now speak about it publicly after experiencing the heartbreak she alluded to. And girlllllll, I feel you on all those life lessons (regarding cheating boyfriends) that nobody can teach you or advice you on because you’ve got to learn by your own damn self…. mmmmmmHHHHMMMMMM

Also like what I’ve read of her hustle, she seems to have a good head on her and I hope she goes far. Plus, after seeing those pics of Iyanya at his recent Manchester concert…. Honey, you ain’t missing anything….

All you calling her anorexia, sick, bla bla bla, did you hear her she says she is not sick africans are so use to seeing fat people that any slim lady they see is sick anyways yvonne dear i love everything about you i pray you find a good guy.

question is, what is a chick like this doing with that midget??..because he sang kukere??..phulease!!!..you are way better than that girl..leave iyanya is for those cheap girls out there…that dude feels himself way too much..

My sister, I am yet to wrap my head around the fact that this hot chick had a thing with that brief person. Nnaa men its still hard for me. Nne(yvonne) next time take ur time and find someone befitting. If u must do arrange with brief people check their track record to avoid nonsense. Is it bcos of Kukere indeed? What is all this bikonu? smh

Really,who was Nyanya before luck shone* on him??? I’m a pretty regular girl and I won’t or can’t date him,I mean I can’t even get turn on,sexually! Nyonne is flawless,a kind of girl,you would have and you will like her to be naked all day,without getting tiring of her looks!life is an irony!The most revealing interview ever,BN you need a pat on the back…I never believe anything,but now I do…

I’ve always loved yvonne against all odds. My candid advice is,if u really want something real from a guy pls avoid all celebrities cos they all lie and fame takes their conscience away. This interview is an eye opener to all celebrities @least not all of them are bad tho

Wow Bella Naija interviews make me fall in love with certain individuals. first it was DENRELE, ALEX EKUBO, and now YVONNE NELSON. These are people i just loved after reading their interview. I got a fresh insight and just appreciated them for who they are. Yvonne you just got yourself a new fan. very honest lady…

From the moment anybody starts denying and altering stories about any partner they are dating, they CAN’T be proud to be associated. To be honest, I view a number of our Naija ppl (both men and women) as pathological liars. We used to be brought up to know better. These days ppl lie for fun and it truly is tragic. Whether it is in a relationship or when you keep bleating you are round the corner on the mobile to someone already at a venue when you haven’t even left home, it just is wrong. I can’t take a liar. Just say I am unable to make it rather than I am sick! With some workers, the same family member dies over and over again. Gosh!

You will live long dear. U just took the words out of my mouth. I hate that thingy he does with his mouth. Before any song, Inyanya has to lick his lips. itz as if his lips are either chapped or he enjoys the ordour of his saliva on his lips.

One thing about iyanya is his likeable personalty charms, he is very loveable and very playful etc. which makes him adorable atleast to most girls. All this so called tonto,barbs etc are probably ones who are into him as omo boy, free pass thru their gate of pleasure , i cant blame him! He is just not ready to bloody settle down

Yvonne meeeen it’s a shame he betrayed you but never mind he lost the best and thank God he did because you’ve just learnt one of life’s experiences and he opened your eyes to be a better person and a better future. Love you girl. You are Hawt!

Eiyaaaa….seems Iyanya sh0wed her pepper. But it’s ya fault Madam Yvonne..u heard him scream 0ut loud dat all he wants is your waist and you u still went there with love in mind. Come girl u deserve better. Personally, I like Iyanya so much but he aint ya kind. He has money but money aint everything. He is too young n it’s so early in his career for him to start thinking of marriage. U should have gone for more matured guys (30 to 34yrs) cos they are d ones dat can consider marriage. Goodluck to you. But u sure say na 0nly Iyanya been dey d.a.t.e u? Every1 plays.

And here i was judging her all this while. This interview just changed my perception. I never liked iyanya,anyway. Why are women following him? You’ll get a nice guy,Yvonne. U seem to be a well brought up girl with a good heart. This is really different from the opinion i had of u

Biko she is too beautiful for that small person! See fine girl, Shebi lynxx dey sing ni? If those kind of ppl break her heart we will perfectly understand but Inyanya *weeps sadly*I am yet to believe that she dated the boy. msheeeeeew! How possible?! *vexing seriously* And the boy even had d mind to cheat. Ngwanu see the people he cheated on her with. Yvonne that is what happens if u date razz ppl. They will cheat on u with their kind. Nne dont do that again o

Ghanians can love sha, no wonder SWAY of Ghana in an old interview mentioned how Ghanians love you for you, while Nigerians love you for what you have (Materialistic). And it is the truth! which of the ‘Genes’ or ‘ritas’ will be caught dead with Nyanya talk more of hanging out with the likes of dammy krane on a paddy level. None! Apart from Tonto sha, whom we all know is Crazy like Rihanna. What we Naija people call class, I call humility…

I am not swayed by the interview she granted to bellanaija.Were you expecting her to to sound crude in the first place.Not holding brief for Inyanya as well,but the truth is that she was caught up in the euphoria of celebrity love affair and it burnt her. Dear Ms. Nelson, as you have moved on with your life now, having learnt the lessons of hearbreak et al, I’d suggest and encourage you and other ladies to embrace ‘Self Love’…..which is the greatest and most important love one could ever bestow upon oneself… It is the foundation of true love…the barometer of all love given and received… It is the love that determines your understanding of love…defines the care and experience of love…the measure of love…as you live a life of love… In a world that often misshapes…deceives and abuses love… Belittles…dismisses and takes advantage of love… Self love protects and restores loss love…damaged love…forgotten love… Recognizing the goodness and the grace of love…the true benefit and power of love. We all need love…acknowledged or not…love is the embodiment of both our greatest weakness and unmeasurable strength… Self love gives us the ability to honor…respect and embrace the responsibility of love…to love and be loved in return…is the miracle of love… So,hun, get some self love and see just how good love can be…it’s contagious..

Make una no worry. BN go soon interview Iyanya again and the tune go change. I go slap my sister if she as much as exchange SMS with Iyanya talk less of dating him. However, i struggle to understand the beatification of Yvonne Nelson. She does not come across as a spectacular actress (which is meant to be her main forte), all i know her for are the endless half naked pics i see in blogs and mags that pass for modelling and photo shoots. I understand the empathy for her broken heart but the sainthood being conferred on her is the part i am struggling to understand.

Yvonne Nwannem, take heart my dear, this heart break matter is a serious thing! guys can so break our hearts cos we girls can love to love *whew* The one i experienced recently did me vaaam n’anya infact I am still in shock but wat can one do we have to move on naa. I wish us all the best in this ije love matter God will see us through…Amen!

Ms Yvonne am not trying to blame you, but must you star date your fellow star? you wanted to belong to that click. my advice to all those pretty star looking for their fellow star to date looking down @ ordinary men thinking that all that glitters is gold. anyway that sound you rite so that u should come down from your high horses..is message is not only for you, there are other good men out there that re not stars..

Wonder wat smone meant by saying that inyanya was nobody. All celebrities were nobody before their luck shine. I love yvonne Nelson so much and feel that with her beauty and personality she did a good thing by not wanting to share her man with someone. You deserve the best. I love you more.

Ms nelson I dnt no y u choose 2 date some like inyanya an illiterate 4 dat matter. U should b thinking dating a intelligent person like ice prince. But as 4 me if am a celebrity buy God grace I can never date a celebrity bcus at d end all u got is heart break

Llord jesus! All I can imagie rait now is how creepy dos his midgety hands wud feel on ones skin! Inasmuch as I believ d heart loves who it wants to? Not inyanya abeg! Dude is way too young,and still has his head in d clouds! Imagin yvonne marrying Don jazzzy,or dan foster or some oda more matured men, e go set! U can never underestimate d value of experience,and dt comes with age, yvvone u for jst deny dis tin fa! I for like am! Inyanya, I can’t stop remebring how small n lowly he was on mtn project fame.

Are you a learner? No be by beauty dem dey take remain monogamous o! Some of the most monogamous men are married to ladies who rank low on the beauty department. Your husband should speak for himself. Not men are keen on variety. Some of us just want one woman that ticks most of the boxes that turn us on. Truth be said woman no dey satisfy.If you think you have found the most endowed backside, days later you’ll find a bigger and curvier one. How much variety can a sane man enjoy.

i bet if Iyanya was honest and told her “i have many girlfriends” she would have accepted it and continued to be with him. truth hurts but not as much as lies. he’s still learning how to be a true player

I don’t think she’s being fair to her ex. If you did not talk about your relationship when you were together, don’t come out and talk about it when it ends and make all sort of accusations. They are both public figures and such information may be damaging to his career and reputation. I know she’s heartbroken but going to the media and telling the world of how much of a player Inyana is is not going to mend her broken heart. She should have kept it private as she did before the breakup and seek solace from close friends and family. What she’s doing is kind of childish and a tad bit vindictive. Unimpressed.

God go bless you my sister. The girl dey try win fans via interview instead of through her acting skills. No be actress she be? As bad as Iyanya appears from afar, i refuse to be swayed by this tale of hers. You need TB Joshua to warn you about boys like Iyanya? It just means her standards are very low. I refuse to respect a lady like that.

agreed. she’s hurt, he lied and all that but not reason enough to mess up his career. wtf! i sympathize wit h her but she had to be “grown-up” about it. she knows how bad it is for an entertainer to get such bad reviews and she kept killin d dude. read d comments, i feel bad for the amateur player. love u yvonne but you should have gone to friends and family not the media.

Well, I don’t really know the root cause of their break up, let her take heart, life goes on, I feel for her though but it’s time for her to move on rather than crying over split milk, man go another man come and life goes on